IN PICTURES: Long weekend crowd gets in on the high speed action of Albany Rally Sprint at Middleton Beach

Tarmac Events’ annual rally races returned to Albany over the Labour Day long weekend, with a healthy crowd of spectators turning out to Middleton Beach on Monday to watch the action. The event took place over two days on Sunday and Monday, with drivers tackling a Quaranup course on Sunday and then returning to the Albany city centre on Monday for the iconic Mt Adelaide hill climb. Spectators lined the fences near the start line, and many took the opportunity to walk through the pit station in the Albany Surf Life Saving Club carpark, chatting to drivers and getting a closer look at the racing machines. Tarmac Events’ Ross Tapper said the racing at Quaranup was a great challenge for drivers but not suited to spectators because of the narrow road and more remote location out of town, but said he was happy to see an enthusiastic crowd turn out for the second day of racing at Middleton Beach. Mr Tapper said the weekend was an overall success, with 58 cars and about 100 drivers turning out to compete in two days of racing. “It all went very well, there were no major incidents and both days ran fairly smoothly,” he said. “The weather was great all weekend as well and we had a great crowd down at Middleton Beach to take in the action, so we’ve got nothing to complain about at all, really.”